Patpong: Bangkok's Twilight Zone
Nick Nostitz (Photographer)

Not so much "Around the World in 80 Lays" more a jaw-dropping insight into a round-the-clock business culture where anything is possible and where all major credit cards are accepted. Purporting to be more than just a voyeur's wet dream, this is a portrait of an extraordinary way of life, a study of people and places handled with sensitivity that aims to add to the sexploitation debate. There may be a recherche allure to the hookers turning tricks in go-go bars and the weird twilight world of the transexuals, but they are just bit-part players in a greater drama - a shifting world of illusion and reality, captured by the camera.

• Click the above link/image for details of this book.
  
• Reply to this topic to add your review.
  
• Use the Rate It! link to submit your rating of this book.

Nostitz is no Weegee (yet at least) but his photographic work is at times engaging and raises some feelings of empathy or abhoration, though most times comes across as a personal collection of lifestyle 'snaps' but having levelled what seems to be a disparagement of his work I actually felt more than comfortable with this aspect of the book - I like to look at friends' personal collections of lifestyle 'snaps' also, at least when they have an eye for at least a semi-decent shot, as it sometimes says a lot about the person as much as it says about the subjects of the photographs.

Whilst largely being a collection of photographs, perhaps more so I should say a series of well constructed gently meandering photographic essays, these photographs sit within a broader framework of a nicely styled collection of graphic and typographic elements that aid in painting or perhaps really just hinting at the bigger picture (ie: story) that the author wishes to convey. But much like a Ridley Scott film it's prone to being more style over substance (I think my analogy boat just went down some rapids there) but strong and engaging style at that.

If anything I wanted to know more about the characters we come across within the book. There are some 'nice' (ie: intriguing if not sweet) stories included in the book relating to some of the subjects photographed.

At around the equivalent of 20 UKP if memory serves me correct (I bought the book for a burgeoning photographer friend though devoured it myself before passing it on) it's a bit on the pricey side perhaps but this was comparing it to Bangkok prices and it appears to be selling at 25 UKP on Amazon which I suppose one might expect for a book of this format.

This is an ideal accompaniment to the work of our own dear Turk Fist/Jago. I would be very surprised if some of the characters from those stories do not also appear in Nick's photos. I must admit, when the book first came out I was a little relieved not to find myself in there somewhere!